


cause you're fine (and you're mine) and you look so divine

by theredvipers



Series: oceans away (but i'll never forget you) [3]
Category: John Wick (Movies), Ocean's (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, DENIAL ISN'T JUST A RIVER IN EGYPT, M/M, basically just some scenes after john gets hired to kill danny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 00:16:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14508312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theredvipers/pseuds/theredvipers
Summary: “Never took you for a sweet talker, Johnny,” Ocean replies, then he winks at John, the way he’d done all those years ago. Now, John understands he hadn’t been seeing things where there was nothing to see, and that Ocean meant it in the way John thought he’d meant it. “I could show a handsome guy like you a good time,” Danny Ocean says, fox-like smile on his face, the same game face he’d used years ago, back when John had helped him out with one of his heists. It still amazes John, after all these years, how Ocean faces death like it’s an old friend, how he stands in front of Baba Yaga, in front of the emissary of death, and he stands proud and unashamed, despite his lack of clothes and the fact he slept with the man sent to kill him. “That is, if you let me go.”or: John Wick gets hired to kill Danny Ocean, but he never pulls the trigger.





	cause you're fine (and you're mine) and you look so divine

**Author's Note:**

> more of my big boy fuck up what can i say

He stares at the picture they offer him; it’s a headshot of a certain Danny Ocean, his next target.

His expression must betray his surprise at the request, because his client, an old man who owns some casino--or John assumes he does, to want Ocean dead--leans over the table, looks at  John dead in the eyes, “Anything wrong?” he asks.

John shakes his head. “No. Give me a week. Maybe less.”

He remembers Danny Ocean and his ragtag heist crew; it had been one of those jobs John took just because, and the fact that Ocean had been charming and the pay hadn’t been bad had only been incentives to take it. He remembers saying goodbye after the heist had been over, and Ocean blinking at him, mischief in his eyes, “Maybe I’ll call you again, John Wick.” he had said, but John hasn’t heard from him in years.

Until now.

It’s not that he can’t kill someone he’s previously met; you won’t last long in this job if you refuse to kill anyone you’ve ever looked at in the eyes. That’s not really the problem, he guesses. John had talked to the man, had shared meal and lodge with him, but this is his job, and a part of him wants to believe Ocean can sneak his way out of everything; it’s how he’s survived for as long as he has even though he pisses off half the people he ever meets.

“A week.” he repeats.

-

No one ever sees him coming. He wouldn’t get called names like the Reaper if they did, but somehow, Danny Ocean does.

He finds Ocean in the middle of a casino in Monaco trying to charm everyone off their money, and probably assessing this particular place for his next heist. John doesn’t really know. Last he heard of Ocean, he’d been out of prison after the heist John helped him with, his ex wife and his partner in crime - Roast? Rust? John can’t quite remember - tagging along for their next venture. He doesn’t know what became of him after, but much like him, Ocean can’t quite leave the underworld behind.

“John Wick,” he says, sitting next to the slot machine John’s been watching him from since he got here. Ocean had been around the roulette, then parading around the entire place in a pristine, fitting black suit with no tie. “Long time no see.”

John doesn’t turn around to look at him, and instead, he opts to play friendly neighbor John Wick, hoping he’s convincing enough. “Mr. Ocean.”

“Drop the mister. We’re almost the same age,” John, for the life of him, can’t remember how old Ocean is, so he decides to believe the guy. “What are you doing around here? ‘Been years since I last saw you.” he feels Ocean’s eyes sweep over his body, but he doesn’t react, pretends he’s still entertained by the machine.

“Work,” is his reply. Ocean snorts.

“Just as charming as I remember you, Johnny,” Ocean teases. “Say, how about I buy you a drink, then you buy me a drink, and then you tell me about all these years we haven’t seen each other?”

It’s a tempting offer, John supposes. He follows Ocean to the bar, and notices the other man doesn’t once look back to make sure John’s following; he’s just confident John is there, tailing him. A Very Ocean Thing To Do, John feels, even though he never knew the man that well.

-

It’s after, when they’re in bed, that John doesn’t see the point of keeping the contract a secret. “I was sent here to kill you.”

Ocean takes a drag from his cigarette, looking a lot like a big cat under the sun, sated and content. If it weren’t for the particular situation and his confession, John would be willing to try for another round. “I suspected as much.”

John raises an eyebrow. Ocean shrugs. “Man like you, who takes money for jobs he won’t mention? It’s obvious you’re not a thief like me.” He turns on his side to face John, who’s sitting on the bed, the lower part of his body covered by the sheets. Ocean raises his arm, and puts his hand on John’s bicep. “Besides, no offense, but if you were a thief, or a scammer, you’d be the worst. You have the worst poker face I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

“Don’t really need it, for what I do.” John replies. He lets Ocean’s hand pull down on his shoulder, and then he leans down, Ocean’s hand on his chin. He lets Ocean press a kiss to his lips, but it doesn’t go farther than that.

“How much?” Ocean asks, but he doesn’t look at John, his hand remaining on John’s bicep. John whispers the sum. Ocean actually looks taken aback. “That much just to off me? I guess I’ve been underestimating my head’s price this whole time.”

John doesn’t mention it has more to do with his reputation than it has to do with Ocean’s, “Perhaps there is another way.”

“Never took you for a sweet talker, Johnny,” Ocean replies, then he winks at John, the way he’d done all those years ago. Now, John understands he hadn’t been seeing things where there was nothing to see, and that Ocean meant it in the way John thought he’d meant it. “I could show a handsome guy like you a good time,” Danny Ocean says, fox-like smile on his face, the same game face he’d used years ago, back when John had helped him out with one of his heists. It still amazes John, after all these years, how Ocean faces death like it’s an old friend, how he stands in front of Baba Yaga, in front of the emissary of death, and he stands proud and unashamed, despite his lack of clothes and the fact he slept with the man sent to kill him. “That is, if you let me go.”

John doesn’t smile back, not quite. He’d call it more a grimace than a true smile.

-

It’s not a broken contract if someone else signs another contract; the price John gives Ocean is considerably lower, but no one has to know.

After that, he asks for word to be passed around: John Wick won’t take contracts on Danny Ocean, not for whatever sum anyone could offer, not for anything, really. Aurelio asks him about it, and John just smiles. “I owe him a debt.”

Aurelio doesn’t buy it, but he leaves the matter alone. “Hope you don’t go around owing the kind of debts I’m thinking about.”

John shakes his head.

-

The next time, it’s Ocean who finds him first.

John wasn’t really expecting them to meet after that night in Monaco; he’s not a teenager, and he’s lived long enough to know when things don’t have to mean more than they actually do, but he can’t help but wonder if there is something between them after all, for them to dance around each other like this.

John may not know as much about pretending to be someone he isn’t as Ocean does, but he knows Ocean isn’t just here because of one of his heists or scams. At least he thinks so.

He finds Ocean while walking home, and it doesn’t down on John that he’s not seeing things, but Ocean’s actually standing in the middle of the street. It’s one of the rare days off John gets, and he likes to walk; keeps him in shape and lets him see a bit of the sun when most of his jobs are at night.

“Mr. Wick,” Ocean says, charming as ever, and John can tell the gears in his brain are working, although he doesn’t know what Ocean could possibly want from him. John hasn’t gotten contracts on Ocean ever since that last time, and Ocean couldn’t afford to hire John, not unless he pulled another incredibly risky heist. “What a coincidence.”

John nods, but he doesn’t smile. “Ocean,” he says. “So it is.”

“Listen,” Ocean says, stepping into John’s personal space in a gentle but confident manner, his right arm looping John’s left. John takes that as his cue to keep walking down the street. “Some friends and I have a job here. And I don’t want to disturb you but, I hear you’re the best muscle around, and I know you’re always up for a job, so I was thinking: ‘why don’t I call up my old pal, John Wick, and hire him to be my bodyguard’?”

John hums, contemplating the offer. “I’m willing to hear you out.”

Ocean laughs. “Charming as ever, Johnny.”

-

“Never said my work came with free lodging,” John says, shoving at Ocean’s arm. His bed is not small, but it’s also not the ideal place for two grown men to sleep in. Not to mention, John is sure this--this thing between them is going to mean more than what it is if they keep falling into bed together. He guesses this is the result of the indulgences he never allowed himself in his youth, and Ocean, with his smile, and his dark eyes, and his salt-and-pepper hair, makes it hard to _not_ indulge. It’s been a while since he shared a bed with someone like Ocean, someone who lived everyday like it was their last, but was still smart enough to talk themselves out of any potentially lethal situation; up until now, no one has walked away from an encounter with John unscathed.

So yeah, there’s something about Danny Ocean, something that draws him, something that could be dangerous and used to harm him if John got too close. He’s starting to doubt his decision to shadow Ocean in his job.

And then, Ocean simply huffs, turns on his side, and buries his face on the side of John’s neck. “I’ll pay or whatever,” Ocean says, sleepily, not trying to hide the fact he’s exhausted; that’s another thing John finds fascinating, that a man like Ocean has no problems with showing vulnerability in front of people he seems to trust. And either he trusts John or he’s playing the long con. “Your pillowtalk needs work.”

John can’t help the chuckle he lets out. “I’m not offering to help you perfect it, asshole.” Ocean says, but there’s no real bite to his words. “Just sleep for once, Wick. I can hear you thinking.”

John falls asleep to the sound of Ocean’s breathing. He doesn’t dream.

-

He tells Viggo of the job, just to let him know he may be seen around town, tailing another man, but it’ll be outside of Viggo’s territory.

Viggo is the one that breaks it down for John. “You’re involved with this man.” he points out. For someone as old and set in his ways as Viggo, he doesn’t sound appalled by the idea, but he does sound amused. “Careful, John. You never know what tricks he’s got up his sleeve.”

John nods solemnly. He knows that Ocean could be deceiving him, but he’s confident in his own ability to punch his way out of situations, the same way Ocean talks himself out of situations as well.

A part of him hopes this isn’t just Ocean pretending to be something he isn’t. The other part of him is aware he may be the one pretending there’s something between them when there’s not. John decides to leave those thoughts aside until the job is done, and then he goes back to his life, and Danny Ocean goes back to his life.

-

They pay him even better than the last time he’d helped Ocean out; apparently there have been other attempts made on his life, and on his partners’ lives. It doesn’t surprise John. Maybe they didn’t know where they were getting into, but it was to be expected. It’s only luck they decided to not go inside Viggo’s territory. He’s not sure what he would’ve done then.

“All you have to do is make sure we all get through this alive,” Ocean tells him. “The boss above the rest.” he says, his tone playful, and he winks at John.

John rolls his eyes. “I’m expecting a bonus for being nice to the boss.”

Ocean snorts. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you crack a joke.” He pats John’s back, and then, he presses a kiss to the corner of John’s mouth. He’s never done that before--the whole affection thing, John guesses. Casual touching _is_ Ocean’s thing, but outside of the bedroom, it’s actually very rare for Ocean to show… emotion, John guesses. Not that there’s any--between them, that is. Not anything but friendliness between two people who’ve occasionally shared a bed.

“Knew you weren’t a PDA kind of guy,” Ocean says, his hand on the nape of John’s neck. “You don’t have to frown like that, Wick. Didn’t know I was such a bad kisser. It wasn’t even a mouth-to-mouth one.”

John shakes his head. “It’s nothing.” he assures Ocean. “Give me the schedule, the places, and how many weapons I should carry.”

It’s easier this way, John guesses. It’ll be easier after. He’ll go back to his life in the shadows of a world Ocean knows but the bare minimum about, and Ocean will go back to his thievery and his scams.

It’ll be easier.

-

Once the job is over, Ocean doesn’t call for a long time. He leaves some things behind, proof of their encounters; some shirts, some pants, socks. John takes them and puts them all in a box, but he can’t find it in himself to throw them away, so they go to the basement.

It’ll get easier.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! any kind of feedback is much appreciated x


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